


Take Them Out

by soltryce (soaringswallow)



Series: Childhood Lost - The Blumenthal Drei [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Child Abuse, Crystals, Self-Harm, Spoilers, Torture, Trent Ikithon comes with his own content warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 03:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17542190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soaringswallow/pseuds/soltryce
Summary: spoilers for episode 49!-It's a routine, really. Nothing to be scared of. He isn't scared of it. It's for the good of the Empire.





	Take Them Out

**Author's Note:**

> gotta write fast
> 
> this is kinda based on my headcanon that whenever trent went a bit too far and hurt them in a way that would do lasting psychological damage, he would just make them forget and undo his mistake. so there.

Eodwulf's fever has gone up overnight.

He is shivering under a mountain of blankets, and his eyes are glassy even as he tries to joke and pretend everything is fine.  
His words come out slurred, too, like his tongue is too heavy for his mouth.

They don't usually get infections from Trent's work. He's careful about it, his laboratory and tools always sparkly clean… but sometimes mistakes can still happen.  
That's what Trent said, at least, when Bren and Astrid told him about Wulf's condition.

He's supposed to outlast it. So it can make him stronger, and his body learns to submit to the power of his mind.

Bren isn't entirely sure that's how that works, but he knows better than to protest. Trent is a smart man, he knows what he is doing. 

If it gets any worse, he'll surely put an end to it and allow them to remove the newest batch of crystals, hidden underneath many layers of bandages and one layer of tanned skin.  
These ones were pale yellow and Bren doesn't know what they were supposed to do. They don't seem to be doing it, either way.

It would be so much easier if Trent only told them what he's trying to achieve. But they're not supposed to question him.  
He only tells them, over and over again, that this will be a great success and a step towards making the Empire a safe place forever. When it works.

If it works, Bren thinks to himself.

Astrid gently wipes some more sweat off Eodwulf's brow and sighs when he gives her a sleepy smile. He's not quite there, clearly.  
He's clutching the top blanket in a desperate attempt not to pick at his bandages. Bren can relate.

"Maybe we should change them again," he suggests softly. More cleaning can't do much harm, can it? At least not if they're careful.

"Maybe we should rip those things out of his body," Astrid replies, but the usual fire in her voice is only a tiny spark now. "It's another failure. He has to see that." Normally he doesn't make them suffer this long if an experiment didn't work. It's the fourth day now.

"And what if it isn't?" Bren asks, "What if this is it, and we'll see as soon as the fever goes down? We can't take that risk, Astrid. You know that."

"Ja." Astrid wraps an arm around his waist and rests her head against his shoulder. "Ja, I know. I just hate seeing him like this."

Bren can only nod. Out of the three of them, Eodwulf is the physically strongest. It's difficult to watch him struggle.  
"I need to get going," he murmurs after a minute of anxious silence. "He is already in a bad mood, better not make him wait."

Astrid leans in to kiss his cheek and then lets go again. "Good luck," she says softly, and Bren avoids looking at Eodwulf again as he leaves.

>>>

In the basement lab, everything is already prepared for him. Trent is checking over his tools for what's probably the fourth or fifth time when Bren comes in. This is a routine, he knows exactly how this works. 

"Sir." Bren stands straight and waits until Trent gives him a wave as permission to continue. 

He takes off his uniform jacket and the shirt and sits in the chair in the middle of the room.  
It's a nice chair.  
The armrests are cushioned so he'll be comfortable throughout the process. The leather straps attached to them are… another story. But they are necessary. They've learned the hard way that even the best training can't keep someone from flinching away forever.

"How is Eodwulf?" Trent asks. He turns around with a scalpel in hand, and Bren takes a deep breath to steady himself. This is the easy part.

"The fever has gotten worse, Sir. We fear that some dirt might have gotten into the wound together with one of the crystals." He hisses through his teeth when Trent makes the first cut, and earns a look of disapproval.

"That is certainly possible." Another cut. This time, Bren doesn't make a sound. "Is he in a lot of pain?"

"He… he has shown no signs, Sir." The cuts burn, but it isn't so bad. He's used to worse.

Three. Four.

"Astrid is worried but…"

"But you told her we could not waste this chance?" Trent smiles when Bren nods. "You are going to be a great asset one day, my boy."

Five cuts. Six.

"Thank you, Sir."

Trent picks up the first crystal, and Bren's eyes widen. It's big. Bigger than usual.

When his teacher gives him a piece of leather to bite down on, he doesn't object.

>>>

That night, Bren doesn't sleep.  
Astrid is still with Eodwulf, mostly because Bren assured her he was fine and there were more important matters to attend to.

He is not fine.

They burn.

The skin, sown together over the crystals, is stretching unnaturally, and every movement of his arms sends bolts of pain through him, so strong that they make him nauseous.

And the crystals themselves feel worse than usual. Like they are pulsating underneath his skin, pressing against his flesh to cause him even more pain. It feels like fire, but not like fire at all.  
Fire can be put out.  
It can be controlled.  
This… he can see the faint glow of the crystals in the dark of his room, even through the bandages.

They don't belong. They are not part of him. 

Take them out.

He wants them out. Now.

But he doesn't do anything. He can't. He isn't weak. A little bit of pain can't break him. This is for the good of the Empire. 

His parents will be so proud when he becomes a full fledged member of the Assembly.  
Astrid and Eodwulf will stand at his side and smile. Trent will praise him and tell him how brave and strong he has been.

A sharp pain flares through his arm. He didn't even notice he was scratching until now.  
There's a warm spot of blood on the bandages, growing ever so slowly.

Bren watches in fascination for a moment before he mechanically unwraps them to inspect the damage.  
One of the stitched up wounds has opened again. A little bit of the crystal is peeking out.

Bren hesitates.

Out. 

It hurts.

He swallows and pulls at it.

>>>

Astrid finds him on the floor in a puddle of his own blood less than fifteen minutes later.  
She doesn't scream. She's never been a screamer, or a squeamish one. Bren loves that about her. He should tell her.

But for now he needs to stop the pain. His left arm is already so numb that he barely feels the remaining two crystals anymore. But he still wants them gone. They are still wrong.

The door opens again, and this time it's Trent.

Trent's hand that grabs his chin and forces him to look up and interrupt his work. 

Trent's spell that makes his hand still in its scratching and digging.

Trent that slaps him until his head is ringing - but he feels a little clearer now.

There is still only one thought.  
"Take them out, please…. Please, Sir, it hurts! Take them out, take them out…"  
He's crying and he feels like he's been in this situation before, but that's not possible.  
He's been fine with every other experiment so far. It must be these specific crystals.  
He tries to move his hands again, but Trent is still holding him tight.

"I can't believe this… that's three out of five with him... useless…" He sighs, and Bren blinks at him, confused and a little dazed from the bloodloss. "Sleep now, my boy. Next time you will do better."

And he sleeps.

>>>

When he wakes up, he is feeling a little numb. A little too tired.

And gods, it's his turn on the chair today. He hopes it will go over without hitch. 

He visits Eodwulf after breakfast, only to find him still in bed, shivering in his sleep.

Bren pities him.  
He's never experienced any complications before, and, looking at Eodwulf, he knows he is very lucky.


End file.
